You must know what SEO trends are on the horizon so that you can update your website accordingly and ensure that more prospects and customers find you in the search engine results.

So, let’s dive into the 12 SEO trends for 2020.

1.  Snippets Dominate More Search Clicks

Google has evolved in recent years to deliver a better search experience for the user, like through Featured Snippets.

Featured Snippets usually appear above the number #1 organic result, commonly referred to as “Position 0.”

To take advantage of this feature and drive more clicks to your website, you need to provide clear answers to commonly asked questions on your website. Featured Snippets are evaluated and boosted to the top depending on their quality, which Google has a way of determining. Don’t take this trend lightly, as 54.68% of clicks from Google originate from Featured Snippets—proving that they drive more than half of search engine clicks.

Featured Snippets represent a great opportunity for content creators since it gives you the ability to generate more organic traffic even if you’re not ranking at the top number #1 position.

2. Influencers Should Be Leveraged for SEO

People often feel inundated by intrusive ads and are looking for information they can trust and authentic reviews. This has led to a rise in influencer marketing. People are much more likely to engage with a respected and well-known person than they are with an ad. Digital marketers and media companies are increasing their investment in influencer marketing because it has produced excellent results. According to Linqua, “39% of marketers increased their influencer marketing budget in 2018” and 30% of online marketers were spending between $25k and $50k on influencer marketing.

At first glance, you may wonder how this pertains to SEO.

According to eMarketer, “worldwide digital ad spend is predicted to reach over $375 billion by 2021.”

To keep up with your competition, you must keep up with the trends. Take a moment to think about technology’s impact on your business and how you can take advantage of it. What new tools, technologies, or platforms can you use? Are there ways you can streamline operations? Improve customer support and customer experiences? Optimize lead acquisition? What tools do you actually need? What’s just fluff and unnecessary overhead?

Critical analysis will help you identify what you should invest in now, what you should cut, and where your industry is moving in the future. Don’t get left behind and continue with the status quo. Your business will grow if you proactively engage customers in new ways and retain them through excellent experiences.

That being said, we’d like to share 12 digital marketing trends for 2020 you should watch out for:

1. Chatbots Take Off

Many companies will continue using a chatbot, they’re effective software programs that interact with website visitors and customers. Chatbots communicate naturally with people viewing the site and can answer their questions in real-time.

Chatbots either use verbal interactions or chat windows to help web users find what they’re looking for.

Hiring an individual to monitor and communicate with visitors on your website can be expensive, but chatbots save costs by answering common questions on your behalf. And subsequently, customers tend to appreciate the personalized service and getting their questions answered quickly.

Additional Benefits of Using Chatbots in Digital Marketing

They Save Time: Unlike humans, a chatbot can provide answers quickly to all kinds of questions. And quick responses mean that customers can make decisions faster.

Increases Customer Satisfaction: Unlike humans, the chatbot doesn’t need time to rest. Any time the customer wants information, it’s right at their fingertips. And as the chatbot responds more accurately, your sales conversion rates will increase as well.

Shows Good Humor: A chatbot is never moody. You will never hear customers complain about being turned away. They are unbiased, clear, and informative—all qualities that make your customers feel at ease.

2. More Brands Use Private Messaging Apps to Connect Directly

As 2020 approaches, many companies will start shifting their focus on how to better use private messaging apps. Smartphone apps like WhatsApp, Viber and WeChat have already gained massive popularity. Instead of using emails, cutting edge companies are adopting the use of private apps as well as private messaging groups.

Here are 12 medical marketing trends you need to watch in 2020:

1. Content Marketing Moves Beyond Blogs

As you know, when people get sick, they go online to figure out what might be the problem. They search for their symptoms and then try to figure out a solution, which often includes a visit to a doctor. If healthcare providers want to attract more patients, they must create helpful, high-quality content that answers patient’s medical questions.

In addition to educational content on cardiac conditions and treatment options, MaineHealth Cardiology’s website features a patient-to-patient forum and patient portal.

To do this, an increasing number of physicians are using blogs to share information on specific diagnoses and how to prevent and treat different medical conditions. However, content marketing is more than just blogs and can take many different forms.

Savvy healthcare providers are thinking beyond blogs and developing innovative resources to meet their patient’s needs. They’re creating personalized digital healthcare centers that not only include written content, but also educational videos, patient-to-patient communication forums, and smart tools and apps to aid in healthcare monitoring. To do this, they’re expanding their marketing teams or working with trusted agency partners.

When developing new digital content assets, be sure to keep SEO best practices in mind. Google wants content to be well organized and meet their E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) quality rating standards. Web pages must also be secure, load fast, and adhere to UX best practices.

You can strengthen your credibility by publishing informative blog articles—but I encourage you to think beyond blogs in 2020.

2. The Era of Zero-click Search is Here

Zero-click searches have increased year over year. In 2019, 48.96% of all U.S. Google searches ended without a click, according to Jumpshot’s research. People go to Google to ask questions and they’re often given answers through the Featured Snippets or the Google Knowledge Graph. In many cases, users have no need to click through to a website.

After reading this featured snippet, the searcher may conclude that they don’t need an eye exam this year and stop their search. Or, if they’re searching for information for their child, that may lead them to a new search on children’s eye exams.

Zero-click searches affect some industries more than others. Hospitality, travel booking, weather reporting, sports, and event websites have been hit hard—but what does zero-click mean for healthcare marketers?

In many instances, the impact will be slight. Healthcare consumers still want to conduct deep research to understand their symptoms, medical diagnosis, and treatment options. However, the impact of zero-click search may be felt when people are making low-consideration healthcare purchases like ordering new eyeglasses or scheduling their yearly dental cleaning.  In an emergency, they don’t have time for exhaustive research, they quickly need to find an urgent care or ER.

Here are a few things you can do in the era of zero-click:

Claim your Google Knowledge Graph Panel

Healthcare providers should claim their Google Knowledge Graph Panel and ensure the information is accurate. Search users may not click through to your website, instead, they may decide to call to schedule an appointment directly.  Or if you change your hours, you need to update the information so people know when you are open.

Examples of Google’s Knowledge Graph Panel with varying levels of completeness and information.

Optimize Content for Featured Snippets

While Google’s Featured Snippets may reduce click-throughs to your website, they’re still highly valuable and you should evaluate your SEO strategy to determine if you can claim the top spot with any of your web pages.  Consider adding FAQ sections to address commonly asked questions.

You can also use Featured Snippets to guide searchers to additional information or prompt additional search queries. As people are researching, they often don’t know what the solution is—they’re searching for symptoms. If you rank well for search terms that fall within the problem awareness stage, your answers can lead the consumer to possible solutions.

And while some people will be satisfied with a quick answer, there are still many others that crave rich information. As I mentioned earlier, focus on creating high-quality comprehensive content that answers people’s questions.

3. Digital Video Consumption Increases

If you’re a healthcare marketer and you’re not using video to promote your practice, you are missing out. Videos are driving serious engagement today. Many people enjoy watching videos over reading articles. A report released by HubSpot shows that about 45% of people spend more than one hour a day watching videos.

On top of that, 39% of potential patients call to make an appointment after watching a video on a healthcare topic.